


Injuries

by pkmngame-fankids (Kataang36)



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Main Video Game Series)
Genre: Angst, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, Major Character Injury, Original Character(s), Original Character-centric, Originally Posted on Tumblr, Serious Injuries, pkmn fankids
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-10-31
Updated: 2017-12-23
Packaged: 2019-01-26 23:44:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,741
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12568872
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kataang36/pseuds/pkmngame-fankids
Summary: Accidents happen, especially in races. Akiko knew that. It was inevitable. What she didn't know was how much it hurt seeing someone she cared about getting hurt during a race.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Originally, I posted this on my tumblr, but I'm in the process of also posting those stories over here.

She didn’t know where things went wrong.

Most people would have said the moment that all the racers found out that there would be no barriers on the edges of cliffs was where everything began to go wrong. And, normally, she would agree. That could be where the race began to go awry. But it could have been the way that other racers were being pestered by the reporters, not allowing them enough time to do important checks on their bikes.

Or it could have been everything that piled on top of the last that made just a pile of mess at the end of the day. Akiko didn’t know, and she was quite certain no one really had an idea what was going on.

Not anymore, at least.

* * *

The day had started off normally; wake up before 6, shower, have a hearty breakfast, and then get in a short run before getting ready for the race. It was warm, windy day and, while not perfect for cycling, it felt like it was going to be a decent day. It  _should_  have been in a good day.

Once she was at the race, though, that’s where things became… unusual.

All possible entrances and exits had been  _swarmed_  with reporters.

Now, Akiko was used to seeing reporters at the gates of a race and having to work her way around them. She came to expect it for races. It was out of the ordinary for reporters to not be trying to get an interview out of the cyclists before the race. This, though, was new.

Even in big races, there were usually ten or so different reporters from different new organizations. There were enough to have problems getting through the main entrance, but there was always another few entrances that were completely clear of reporters. And she had learned how to successfully avoid reporters over time. But seeing an entire field covered with them, it made a small pit of anxiety develop in her stomach. Something was wrong.

And she found out  _what_  was wrong sooner than later.

One reporter ran up to her, recognizing her as a racer, and shoved a small, audio recording device in front of her. She stared at it, preparing a comment about how she did not wish to be interviewed, before the reporter spoke.

“Miss Caruso, how do you feel about the fact that there are no safety barriers around the edge of the cliff you’ll be cycling on? Do you have anything you wish to say towards the racing organization?” He asked, eagerly waiting for an answer. 

“There’s a cliff that we’ll be racing on?” She repeated, quietly. The pit of anxiety in her stomach suddenly made her feel nauseous. “With no safety barriers?”

“Yes, yes, a small cliff.” He said, dismissing her comment with a small wave of his hand. “What are your thoughts on the matter?”

Cliff. Heights. Arceus,  _why_?

It took a moment for her to regain control of herself – she did not want any reporters getting hold of the fact she was terrified of heights,  _that_  would be a mess – but she tried to give the reporter an easy going smile. 

“There must be something that will keep the racers safe over the cliff part, I’m  _sure_. Now, if you don’t mind, I need to go look over my bike.”

* * *

Looking over her bike was not as therapeutic as she thought it was going to be.

Normally, it served as a sort of calming mechanism for her. It let her focus on what was important, like if the chain stay was attached properly, but today, it only served as a focus point on what to worry over. If something was wrong with her bike, if something wasn’t attached properly, the chances of her crashing when she raced over that cliff would be high. Her racing had to be perfect, her bike had to be in perfect condition, and, most importantly, the race track itself had to be perfect.  _Nothing_  could go wrong, otherwise, well, she didn’t want to think about it.

Akiko sighed, her shoulders slumping forward, and stood up. Her bike seemed to be in  _decent_  condition, but after spending an hour looking over it, she didn’t know. She needed a break. She needed to focus on something else,  _something_  that would take her mind off of the cliff. Even talking to one of the other competitors would help.

But, she could tell just by looking around at the other racers, that they were scared too. The few competitors who had managed to get in past the reporters were focusing on their bikes, testing their tires and chain stays repeatedly, and none of them wanted to look over at the others. She couldn’t blame them. A race over a cliff with no safety barrier would not end well, even if it was a  _small_  cliff, as that reporter had told her. 

There weren’t many racers she recognized as she skimmed the small group. She saw new faces, with most of them looking much younger than her. Akiko couldn’t help but feel sorry for the new racers, this was more than likely their first race and, so far, it wasn’t looking good. This was probably close to her hundredth race and she was quickly figuring out that this race was a bad idea, from start to finish.  _Nothing_  was right.

As she skimmed the group though, she was able to find one friendly face. Owen Graves, her… well, she didn’t know what he was to her anymore. A rival, a friend, something else? 

Arceus, she had no clue. 

He had his earbuds in, listening to something to distract him, she was sure. But the distraction didn’t seem to be working too well, as about every minute or so he would stop looking over his bike and instead just stare straight ahead for about ten seconds, then shake his head, as if he was coming out of a trance, and then look over his bike again. Something was bothering him, something important. But the question soon became; what was bothering him so much?

After a brief moment of hesitation, Akiko started walking towards him. She needed to talk to him; she needed to know what was going on. If she could help him, she would. She just needed to know  _what_  was going on. She wasn’t going to let him potentially suffer alone.

She tapped the back of his shoulder, causing him to jump and spin around in a fighting ready stance. His eyes widened and he dropped the stance, quickly taking out his earbuds as he did so. Akiko gave him a small, almost nervous, wave and smiled.

“Hey.” She greeted. “I didn’t know you were participating in today’s race.”

Owen grinned, though Akiko noticed that it didn’t quite reach his eyes. He looked almost… fragile. Like it was taking all of his effort to not let on that something had happened that had broken him. Her grin disappeared, replaced with a worried frown, her eyebrows furrowed together. Before she had a chance to say anything, though, he spoke.

“Akiko! It’s good to see you.” He gestured to his bike as he spoke. “I’ve made a few adjustments to my bike since our last race. I’m looking forward to racing you with the new, modified version of it. The brakes are a small problem, though. But, they’ll last long enough for the race.”

She hesitated. She knew it would be a sore spot, but she still asked. “Are you okay?”

His grin faded, and his jaw clenched. “It’s nothing, don’t worry. You should probably start getting ready to race.”

“Owen –”

“Good luck.”

* * *

The start of the race, once every competitor had arrived and gotten past the reporters, went easily enough. Nothing had gone horribly wrong like she had expected. She was roughly in the middle of the group of racers, and stayed there throughout. Akiko was all too aware that Owen was further behind her, but didn’t allow herself to get distracted. She had a race to win.

It was around the corner towards the small cliff, a drop that wouldn’t kill but would seriously injure someone if they fell off at the speeds the racers were going, when she found the first accident.

Akiko didn’t know what happened entirely, just that there was a crash and before she could even react, she crashed into the other racers, and landed on her right arm. She let out a cry of pain, and immediately suspected that her arm was, at the very least, dislocated from her shoulder. She gripped her right arm with her left hand, trying her best to hold it in place to lessen the pain, and slowly stood up.

She could taste dirt, grass, and something metallic in her mouth – blood, she suspected – and her legs ached. She could feel the scrapes and other injuries as she tried to walk out of the way, stepping over other cycles and cyclists. She was limping, and was beginning to realize that her arm wasn’t the only thing that was injured. Every bone, every muscle, in her body ached. Just walking made her want to collapse, but she knew she would be safer the farther away from the accident she got.

Then a thought came to her: Owen. He was behind her. His breaks were a problem, according to him, and she doubted that he had gotten them fixed. There was no way that he would be able to slow down in time, to avoid every person and bike, in the accident. He would end up injured, or worse.

At that moment, she saw him come speeding around the corner. His eyes widened the moment he saw the crash and immediately swerved to one side, in an attempt to avoid the majority of it. Akiko almost cheered for him until she realized exactly where he was headed: the edge. If he continued going at his current speed, he would fall.

Akiko opened her mouth to warn him, terrified of what would happened, but her voice died in her throat. At the moment she chose to warn him, he hit a rock.

He fell. 

She screamed.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Accidents happen, especially in races. Akiko knew that. It was inevitable. What she didn't know was how much it would hurt seeing someone she cared about getting hurt during a race.

She reacted before she even realized it.

Akiko slowly limped over to the edge of the cliff, ignoring the pain in her right leg, and looked over. She could see his bike; the tires still spinning rapidly, the frame bent and dented, but not Owen. She could see where he would have rolled, the grass was flattened, branches and twigs were broken, and there was blood –  _far too much blood_  – on a few rocks scattered across the ground. But Owen himself was nowhere to be seen.

She screamed his name until her throat was raw. He had to be nearby.  _He had to be._  She couldn’t accept –  _wouldn’t accept_  – that he wasn’t. He  _had_  to have survived,  _had_  to be somewhere nearby. If he didn’t… well, there was no other option.

Akiko fell to her knees, her legs giving out underneath her. She let out a small cry of pain when her knees hit the hard ground, but otherwise remained silent. All of her energy suddenly felt like it had been drained out of her, leaving her feeling like an empty shell of herself. She could hear sounds behind her, but they sounded distant, as if they were miles away. Perhaps it was more racers crashing or moving around to help anyone who needed it, or perhaps it was some doctors arriving to get all the injured racers into an ambulance headed towards some hospital.

She didn’t care one way or the other. All she could see was Owen seeing the crash and trying to swerve away from it, Owen hitting that damned rock,  _Owen going over the cliff_. She moved her left hand from her right arm to her lips, choking on a sob. This couldn’t be happening.

She didn’t try to stop the tears from falling.

* * *

Akiko had been told that when she had arrived at the hospital, she hadn't been cognizant of her surroundings. She supposed that was true, the last thing she _clearly_ remembered was crying at the edge of the cliff, the rest felt like a chunk of her memory had been taken from her. She _knew_ that somehow, she had gotten to the hospital and was now resting in one of their uncomfortable beds, with her right arm in a sling, her chest bandaged, and her right leg in its sling. She couldn't feel the pain from her injuries anymore – she assumed that it was due to whatever painkillers she was on that dulled her pain – but she still felt tired, far more tired than she was used to.

Perhaps it was due to the crash, doctors had told her that it took a lot out of her, or perhaps it was due to seeing Owen going over that cliff. She couldn't pinpoint the exact reason why – she blamed the painkillers she was put on for making her so _loopy_ – but she was _pretty_ sure it was one of the two. Either way, she hated how much it was draining her. Of all things she should be feeling at the moment, exhaustion _shouldn't_ have been one of them. Worried, yes. Sore, yes. But exhausted? No. She should be out there, helping others, not trapped in some uncomfortable bed that was just annoying at this point.

She shifted her attention away from how tired she was, and instead focused on her right leg with a small glare. While no one had told her what exactly required her leg to be in a sling (or maybe they did and Akiko hadn't been paying attention, that was also likely at this point), Akiko was pretty certain that she could move her leg without pain if _someone_ would just let her. And yet, she was trapped and it was most certainly going to be her demise. Or, at the very least, someone else's demise. Likely the doctor's if she wasn't let out soon.

Not that she was going to be of much help getting people anywhere with one arm in a sling, of course. She couldn't really bandage up wounds or put enough pressure on open cuts with one hand. The most she could do would be to call someone else to get professional help and sit there awkwardly with the victim – could she say that, or would it be more appropriate to call them a patient? – and wait. She wouldn't be of much use. Even with her dominant arm being the uninjured one, she was still practically useless to anyone. Now, if her right arm was out of the sling, on the other hand...

Before she even had a chance to consider removing her arm sling, the door swung open, revealing her _papa_ , Tierno. He carried a small box under his left arm – Akiko suspected that it was a care package for her hospital stay, however long that may be – and his Holocaster rested rather precariously on top of the box. She wasn't entirely sure whether he wanted his Holocaster to rest there in the first place, or if he had just put it on the box so that he could open the door. She hoped it was the latter.

He gave her a small, obviously tired, smile, and quietly closed the door behind him. She did her best to return some sort of a smile, but felt as if he could see through it and see just how tired she was. He always knew whenever she was faking – she was pretty confident it was some kind of power he had. 

"Hey kiddo, how you feeling?" He asked. His voice was quiet, barely above a whisper, and yet was strained, as if he was doing his best to not sound worried.

"Tired." She answered, then hesitated for a moment. Her _papa_ would understand. "I need to be out there, _papa_! People need help, and I should be out there helping instead of being trapped in here! There are people who need this room more than I do!"

To her surprise, Tierno's smile faded and he sighed quietly. Placing the box on the edge of her mattress, beside her right leg, he sat down on one of the hard plastic chairs that were around her hospital room.

"Akiko, honey, you're _hurt_. You've got a broken leg, you've dislocated your shoulder, you've got a mild concussion, and you went into shock." Tierno said softly. "I know you're worried – so are we – and I know that you hate being stuck, but the doctors don't want you to be released from the hospital for a week, at least. And, quite frankly, neither do Trevor and I. We want you to recover safely."

"I can walk! Just help me remove this stupid sling and I'll show you, I'm not as hurt as everyone thinks I am! I just – I need to get up." Her voice trailed off as she tried to sit up, the room quickly fading around her as her vision darkened. She felt two hands gently push her back onto the uncomfortable pillow while she shut her eyes tightly, trying to focus on anything other than the sudden dizzy spell that had taken her. 

"Sweetie, please, you need to rest. Pushing yourself to help others, as noble as it is, won't help you in the long run." He said. "I brought some stuff from home for your stay in the hospital so you'll have some comfort here."

"Owen said his breaks were a problem, _papa_. I should've helped him. I should be out there looking for him, instead of lying here doing _nothing_."

"Trevor is out there looking for him, Akiko. We'll find him, don't you worry. But you'll be of no help to him if you go out on a rocky terrain with a broken leg, dislocated shoulder, and a mild concussion."

She relaxed into the pillow beneath her, her eyes still shut tightly. "Can you call father? I could still help from here." Tierno sighed softly, but placed his Holocaster into her right hand.

"Only on the condition that you promise me you'll rest up."

"I will, _papa_. Just please let me do _something_. Owen could be badly hurt or worse, I can't just – just sit around and not help him."

* * *

He knew pain, but _this_ was on a whole new level.

 _Everything_ hurt. He couldn't move an inch from where he landed without something flaring up in agonizing pain, forcing him to stay in a rather uncomfortable position of lying on his right side over various sized rocks. He could feel something digging into his chest every time he took a breath – he desperately hoped it wasn't a bone – which was causing him to breathe as little as possible. He didn't want to risk shouting, knowing that it took a lot of air and if breathing alone hurt, he didn't want to imagine the pain from trying to talk. Not until he absolutely had to.

Owen knew that if he was found, he'd be taken to the hospital and they'd be forced to inform his family. He _really_ didn't want to deal with his parents now. Or ever again, really. He guessed that was one of the reasons why he wasn't fighting against the pain to be found – that, and he knew that if he moved too much, he could risk new injuries that he didn't want. 

He wondered if it was possible to change his emergency contacts on his Trainer Licence to "no one" or "don't bother", or if it was mandatory to have an emergency contact. If it was, he'd find someone who wouldn't necessarily tell his parents about hospital visits. He knew who he'd ask first, too. It wasn't much of a contest.

Akiko and her dads.

Since coming to Kalos, Akiko had become the one constant in his life. At first, it was because she participated in almost every race he did, quickly becoming his rival. Then, after she found out that he didn't have a great training routine, she started inviting him to train with her at the gym she frequented. Training together slowly became spending time together, with her sharing some of her favourite places in Kalos with him and him playing his favourite video games with her. That slowly became getting to know her dads and spending time with her family.

And then it became him being invited to go to Johto at the end of the previous year as a part of their _family_ tradition.

There may have been tears shed when he was invited.

It had surprised him just how easily they had taken in him as a part of their own family, but what surprised him more at the time was that he _let_ them. Back when Owen first met Akiko, he was on bad terms with his own family – and still was, if he were being honest – and yet, he let them in just as easily as they had let him into their lives. All three of them had came into his life in such a short period of time, and yet, he considered them to be more of his family than the one he left in Almia.

He hoped that they considered him to be a part of their family, too, and not just some pity case.

Owen took a deep breath, wincing at the pain in his chest as he did so and then regretting the wince due to the pain in his shoulders, and exhaled softly. He knew _them_ better than that – he knew _Akiko_ better than that. If she thought that her dads didn't like him, she'd do everything that she could to change their opinion of him. She'd make sure to mention his better traits – whatever _those_ may be – and would demand that they give him a fair chance and actually get to know him. She wouldn't give up until either Tierno or Trevor talked to him civilly. It was one of the things he admired about her.

He let out a small sigh – this time ignoring his chest pain – and focused his sight on the slightly bloodied rock in front of him, silently wondering if anyone was searching for him or if he was on his own. He hoped that at least one of the Caruso's were.


End file.
